Tariffs on 800 types of imports may remain unchanged after accession of Armenia in Eurasian Economic Union

YEREVAN, July 25. /АРКА/. Armenia has already singled out 800 types of goods on which it wants to continue levying the current import duties that are significantly lower than those set by the Eurasian Economic Union, Economy Minister Karen Chshmarityan on Thursday.

He told journalists that there were no new proposals so far, Novosti-Armenia reports referring to RIA Novosti.

Chshmarityan didn’t mention any date of accession of Armenia to the Eurasian Economic Union.

If Armenia join the union on the conditions put forward by the union, this will trigger up-to-20-percent price hikes in the country.

Experts say Armenia is dragging its fit in joining the union for this very reason.

In April, the then economy minister Vahram Avanesyan, said that the Armenian government had composed a list of 800 types of goods, including cars, medicaments and other goods of social significance.

On May 29, at a session of Eurasian Economic Council in Astana, Kazakhstan, the Armenian president expressed Yerevan’s intention to join the Eurasian Economic Union agreement until June 15. However, appropriate papers have not been signed so far.

On July 1, Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at a meeting of Russian diplomats, said Armenian will become a full member of the union very soon.

A little later, media outlets quoted Kazakh Foreign Minister Yerlan Idrisov as saying that the agreement between Armenia and Eurasian Economic Union is likely to be signed in October 2014 at a regular meeting of Eurasian Economic Union countries’ presidents in Minsk. --0----